Child of Saturn
by Sonata IX
Summary: Set in Crystal Tokyo, in times of peace. Minako and Hotaru are married in the truest sense of the word. However, the imminent arrival of Neo-Queen Serenity's first child has the Senshi of Destruction feeling...dissatisfied. (Hotaru&Minako, incomplete)
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: If I owned anything, do you really think I would be writing fanfiction?  
  
Author's Note: Well, my first serious Sailor Moon fic AND my first shoujo- ai fic. My knowledge of anything after Sailor Moon R is very limited, so please bear with my mistakes. This story makes the assumption that the Outer Senshi are living at the palace along with the Inner Senshi. There is also a note about senshi transformations following the chapter.  
  
In the darkest part of the night, Hotaru disentangled herself from the warmth of the bed and Minako's embrace. She rose quietly, gazing with fondness at her lover's sleeping face. With the moonlight caressing her skin, Minako looked to be the perfect vision of an angel. Hotaru's fingers longed to caress the fair cheeks and silky tresses, but she carefully stilled the urge. There would be time for that later, but for now she had work to do. Placing a gentle kiss on Minako's brow, Hotaru withdrew...  
  
...and emerged from the room as Sailor Saturn. Her glaive cradled in the crook of her arm, she walked the empty halls. Though the world was at peace, the senshi were careful never to let their guard down. One of them was always patrolling the palace and watching the city and surrounding areas for signs of evil forces or strange energy signs. Saturn's watch happened to be in the middle of the night, but she didn't mind. It suited her. She loved the way her footsteps echoed on the polished floor, and she found the sleepy silence that unnerved most people had a soothing effect on her.  
  
Yet tonight her mood seemed determined to be melancholy. Emerging onto a balcony, Saturn leapt nimbly to the top of a tall tower. From the roof of this particular building, she could see out across most of Crystal Tokyo. Of course, there was nothing amiss. There rarely was, these days. No senshi would ever think of skimping on her duties, but lately Saturn found herself feeling...useless.  
  
Was this how she would be spending her very long life, playing watchdog to a city with no rats? A gentle breeze ruffled through her hair, completing the sad mental picture she painted of herself: a lonely soldier standing guard in the cold darkness.  
  
Shivering at her own imagery, Saturn turned her thoughts to more pleasant things. Like Aino Minako, her lover. Sailor Venus. As she had many nights, she brought Minako's face to her mind, endeavoring to recall every detail to perfection. A smile curled at the edges of her lips as her imaginary Minako tossed her a quirky smile, winking and blowing a kiss before she vanished in a shower of golden light. Yes, she should think of her life as the many years she would have to spend in happiness with the one person who made it worth living.  
  
Later, as her shift drew to a close, she returned to the palace with a much lightened mood. Approaching the grand hallways that lead to her rooms, her expression became serious. With the approach of morning, the formerly empty halls were bustling with life. She faced the chattering palace staff, servants, and minor nobility as if they were the deadliest gauntlet.  
  
Just make it back to the room, she told herself grimly, as she did every morning. Shouldering her glaive, she stepped forward...  
  
...into silence. As if she were surrounded by a soundless bubble, all voices within a few feet of her fell quiet. Wide eyes stared at her from countless faces as she walked calmly past, her gaze focused at a point somewhere in the distance. And then, after she had safely passed, the whispers began.  
  
"The Senshi of Destruction," murmured a voice filled with fearful awe.  
  
"Don't! She'll hear you!" someone else hissed. "She'll put a curse on us all!"  
  
"She's so small, so pale...she looks sickly."  
  
"That's the one who captured the heart of our dear Sailor Venus?"  
  
"What do they allow the Senshi of Destruction to stay here?"  
  
"We don't need someone like HER!"  
  
The barbs were small, but each one drove the icy spike a bit further into Saturn's heart. Day after day, the whispers always awaited her when she returned from guard duty. One would think after so many years people would have grown used to her presence, but nothing ever changed. Walking through that hall after a long, lonely night felt a little harder every day. The only reason she made it through was that she knew Minako waited at the other end. Love waited. Her heart waited to take away her pain.  
  
Finally reaching her rooms, she all but ran inside. Her transformation melted away as she pushed the heavy door shut, leaning against it while she regained control of her emotions. And then, as always, her eyes fell upon Minako.  
  
Her hair tousled from sleep, one arm flung haphazardly across the pillows, Minako still looked like the most beautiful thing Hotaru had ever seen. With the dawn not yet arrived, the light illuminating the room was in soft, pastel shades.  
  
I feel like an ink spot compared to her, Hotaru thought with a wry smile. Easing herself onto the bed, she stroked her love's cheek with gentle fingertips and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. As she drew back, Minako's eyes fluttered open, brilliant blue focusing on deep violet. "Hotaru- chan," she whispered sleepily, and Hotaru instantly felt as if the incidents in the hallway were no more than trivial nonsense.  
  
"Good morning," Hotaru said quietly, running her fingers through the long blonde locks, "Minako-chan."  
  
A smile lit Minako's face and she pulled her gentle lover close, their lips meeting again but this time with unbridled passion. The sun broke over the horizon, casting golden light over the couple. As always, they failed to notice the advent of a new day.  
  
And as always, Sailor Venus was a little late for her shift.  
  
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Hotaru was still drifting in a peaceful slumber when the sound of a door crashing open startled her violently awake. Sailor Venus stood in the doorway, red-faced and out of breath.  
  
"M-Minako-chan?!" Disoriented from the rude awakening, Hotaru threw back the covers and stumbled across the room where the exhausted senshi fell into her arms, clinging to her tightly. "Minako-chan! What's wrong?!" Her voice sounded slightly hysterical. The senshi's shoulders were shaking. Was she crying?  
  
Venus raised her head and Hotaru gasped. There were tears in her eyes but the expression on her face was one of joy. "Oh Hotaru-chan, it's so wonderful! Serenity is pregnant!" She hugged Hotaru tightly. "We'll finally get to see Chibiusa...no, Small Lady...again!"  
  
Hotaru sat stunned, from relief that the news was good, not bad, and from the overwhelming emotions that Chibiusa's name evoked. "Chibiusa-chan," she murmured into Minako's hair. "I haven't thought of her in...so long..." She was my only friend back then, Hotaru remembered, the only one who saw me as a normal person and not some kind of freak. Pulling free of Venus, Hotaru stood. Her transformation enveloped her as Venus looked up.  
  
"Sailor Saturn?"  
  
Saturn smiled, holding out a hand to her lover. "I'd like to go congratulate the queen in person. Come with me?" Returning the smile, Venus grabbed Saturn's hand and all but dragged her out of the room, chattering brightly about old memories of Chibiusa as she hurried Saturn towards the royal throne room. A wistful smile on her face, Saturn allowed herself to be led. She wished she had Minako's confidence. Nobody ever whispered about Sailor Venus. Nobody ever thought poorly of the Senshi of Love.  
  
They reached the throne room and Venus swept Saturn inside. The large room was already filled with well-wishers, as the news of the queen's pregnancy had spread quickly. Ushering Saturn to the front of the room, Venus knelt before the throne. Hotaru followed suit, and then raised her eyes to stare at the beautiful queen. Serenity was perched delicately on her crystal throne, her cheeks flushed prettily from all the attention. Endymion sat beside her, one hand on her arm, looking more proud than she had ever seen him.  
  
"Your Majesty," Saturn began, her low voice somehow carrying through the background chatter of the large room, "Sailor Venus just informed me of the good news. I...know your child will grow to be a kind person who sees into the hearts of others. I wish you well with your pregnancy." For a moment, her eyes met the gentle blue of the queen's.  
  
"Thank you, Sailor Saturn," Serenity in her sweet, gentle voice. "I understand." Beside her, Endymion nodded his approval, and Venus winked at her. They could not let everyone know that they had already met the child Serenity was carrying.  
  
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The nine months that followed were a whirlwind of celebrations, counting down until the day that Chibiusa was expected to arrive. In all the excitement, nobody noticed that one senshi looked a little bit less happy. Especially as that particular senshi wasn't known for being overly joyful to begin with. Not even her closest friend and lover noticed the changes at first.  
  
But of course, nothing about Hotaru could escape the attention of Aino Minako for long.  
  
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Author's Note: Senshi Transformations I know that many people think that the senshi will no longer transform in the future, that they will simply BE senshi. What I'm doing isn't really all that different. The public only knows the senshi as the senshi. But to other senshi, family members, and maybe a few very close friends, they still fall back on their old human names. The transformations are more an act of changing clothes than really 'transforming'. I did this to distinguish the more personal level that Hotaru and Minako (as well as the other senshi) share. 


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Notes: Chapters will NOT come out this quickly in the future. This time I just had chapter two nearly written before I posted chapter one. From now on, I'm going to try and balance my work between this fic and my Labyrinth fic, "Let that be Enough".  
  
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The first thing Minako noticed upon waking was the sun in her eyes. Flinging an arm over her face to block out the offending light, she pondered sleepily why it should seem odd to be awakened in such a way.  
  
Because Hotaru always wakes you up after her shift, her brain reminded her.  
  
Jolting awake, Minako threw back the covers and looked around the room worriedly. "Hotaru-chan?" In all their years together, Hotaru had never once returned late from guard duty.  
  
Moments later, servants and nobility alike were diving out of the way as Sailor Venus sprinted at breakneck speed through the corridors. In mere minutes, she had determined that Saturn was nowhere inside the palace. She raced through the gardens, across the courtyard, and up, up, up through the high tiers of the outer walls, her golden hair streaming behind her. Only when she found herself among the highest rooftops of the palace did she pause, sweeping her frantic gaze across the myriad spiraling towers where her lover could have perched.  
  
A flash of black against the crystal walls caught her eye. Her gaze locked onto it and then she was leaping from tower to tower, heedless of her own safety, the only thought in her mind to reach Hotaru. As she neared the small tower, she was able to pick out  
  
Saturn's long glaive catching the morning light. The smaller senshi was sitting on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the side, her glaive propped against her shoulder. Her purple eyes looked up when Venus arrived but she said nothing. Venus was struck by the sad, solemn expression on her face. She longed to pull her friend into a warm embrace, but the senshi in her spoke first.  
  
"Sailor Saturn, you were late." The rising sun cast her shadow over the other senshi's face. "I was worried..." Her voice trembled slightly. Didn't Hotaru realize how important she was to Minako?  
  
"I was just thinking," Saturn began, her voice so soft that Venus almost had to lean closer to hear her. "I was just thinking...about Chibiusa."  
  
"Chibiusa-chan?" Venus was caught by surprise. "That's right...you were good friends with her in the past, weren't you?"  
  
Turning her face away from Venus, Saturn looked out over the beautiful city. "Yes," she nodded. "I was just thinking how, if things had been different, I could have fallen in love with her...instead of..." Her voice fell silent, her head bowed. "Instead of..."  
  
Venus knelt beside her, placing a warm, gloved hand on Saturn's shoulder. "It's okay," she said gently.  
  
Saturn looked up at Venus's smiling face in surprise. She had expected her lover to be hurt, or jealous, or...upset in some way, at least. Instead, she was smiling? "M-Minako-chan?"  
  
Venus's smile widened. "Hey, I'm the senshi of love! Even back then, don't you think I could notice such a thing?" She hugged Saturn tightly. "You didn't choose her, though. You chose me. And Chibiusa will have Helios, right?"  
  
Saturn nodded slowly, returning Venus's embrace.  
  
"I'm glad, Minako-chan," she said slowly, favoring Venus with one of those sweet smiles that senshi of love adored so much, "that you're not upset."  
  
"Silly," Venus scoffed. "I couldn't be upset with you about something like that." She rose and held out her hand. "Let's go home."  
  
Blinking back the tears in her eyes, Saturn smiled and took her lover's hand.  
  
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The birth of Chibiusa, formally known as Princess Serenity, royal daughter to Neo-Queen Serenity and King Endymion of Crystal Tokyo, was an event that none would soon forget.  
  
When the queen went into labor, the entire kingdom flew into a frenzy of excitement before finally settling into a tense silence, as the world waited with bated breath for the birth of their new princess. Endymion paced the halls outside of the royal chambers like a panther. When someone (Sailor Mars, perhaps it was) jokingly suggested that he should be at the queen's side, his face first paled and then turned several shades of red before he snarled at the offending senshi and continued his nervous prowling, muttering occasionally under his breath about decency and privacy and senshi responsibilities.  
  
When the doors finally creaked open to reveal Sailor Mercury, a tired expression on her kind face, all conversations ceased as dozens of pairs of eyes riveted on the shy senshi. Mercury combed a hand through her slightly disheveled hair, a small blush staining her cheeks as she found herself the center of such intense scrutiny.  
  
"Well?" Endymion demanded, the sharp edge of impatience and worry in his voice, "Serenity...is she...?" He took a half-step forward, uncertainly.  
  
Mercury smiled, beckoning him forward. "The queen has given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She is resting now, but asks to see you." As Endymion hurried through the door, Mercury pulled it shut behind him, allowing the royal family some privacy. She exchanged a small, secret smile with the other senshi.  
  
Their young friend of the past had finally arrived in the future.  
  
The official presentation of the princess was the following day. Endymion and Mercury had both argued that Serenity should rest at least two days before attempting such a feat, but the queen was adamant. Her rosy cheeks and glowing expression as she held her daughter in her arms (as well as the large pillows she lobbed at them) finally convinced the two that her strength was fully recovered.  
  
And so the entire palace rose long before dawn the next day, to complete the preparations in time for the princess's debut. As the closest advisors and protectors of the royal family, the inner senshi wore their standard fukus, while the four outer senshi dressed in elegant gowns of their own creation, each somehow reflective of the wearer's rank and ability.  
  
Sailor Neptune appeared in a simple, pale green dress adorned with tiny bells which chimed softly at her slightest movement. Sailor Uranus wore a sky blue dress of similar style, but without the bells. She wore no jewelry or accessories save for an intricate gold necklace. (AN: A story for another time?) Even the guardian of time, Sailor Pluto, stepped away from her demanding post to appear at Chibiusa's presentation. Her silk gown of deep forest green clung to her figure in sharp contrast to the flowing styles of her companion senshi.  
  
Sailor Saturn arrived last, having waited in her room in hopes of showing off her dress to Minako before the presentation, but the leader of the inner senshi had apparently been too caught up in the last minute preparations. Her gown was a shimmering purple, overlaid with lace, that matched her eyes and managed to bring out what little color her skin had. Saturn felt a minor pang that Venus's devotion to her senshi duties prevented her from sparing her lover even a few minutes. Pushing those thoughts aside as she neared the others, she took her place near the front of the throne room.  
  
An enormous crowd was in attendance for the event. News had never spread so quickly and many had previously made plans that could be implemented at the spur of the moment to ensure that they were among the first to lay eyes on the new princess. Finally, the moment they had been waiting for arrived.  
  
The four inner senshi filed in first, taking positions on either side of the great crystal throne. The crowd quieted at the appearance of the royal guardians, a respectful but excitement-filled silence spreading swiftly through the enormous room.  
  
At last, the queen appeared. Held close by King Endymion, her arms cradling her precious bundle, Serenity wore a beatific smile. The straining eyes of the crowd took in the picture of the royal family and a collective sigh of contentment and happiness rose from gathered masses, as if the mood of their leaders was infectious. Taking the child into his arms, Endymion stepped forward.  
  
"Good people," he began, his voice echoing over the audience, "today marks a most momentous occasion." He gently held up the baby in his arms. "Today I bring you the child that your queen has presented me with. I bring you my daughter, Princess Serenity of Crystal Tokyo!" His words were met with tumultuous applause as the crowd roared its joy and approval.  
  
Startled by the noise, the child stirred in the king's arms, opening wine- red eyes to blink about uncertainly. Her gaze flickered about the cavernous room and the many people filling it. It brushed curiously over the assembled senshi until it reached Sailor Saturn.  
  
Uncomfortable with such a large gathering, the petite senshi had withdrawn herself from the crowd to stand near a pillar to one side of the royal dais. From the moment the queen had appeared, Saturn's eyes had been locked on the baby Chibiusa, lost in memories of old. Now she was startled from her revelries to find the child's innocent gaze staring back at her. Then the princess's eyes drifted shut and she curled against her father's chest contentedly, oblivious to the rowdy audience that was eager to meet her.  
  
Saturn backed into the shadowy corner, overwhelmed with the emotion she had felt when her gaze met Chibiusa's. She had realized then that, even after all this time, even with her love for Minako, she still loved Chibiusa. Not in a romantic way, but as a sister perhaps. An older sister. Saturn smiled softly.  
  
Yes, she would be Chibiusa's sister. She would make sure that nothing ever hurt the princess that had showed her such kindness in the past.  
  
"That's a lovely dress," a voice said quietly and Saturn's eyes darted up. Sailor Venus was leaning casually on a nearby pillar, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched her lover. She held out her gloved hand to Saturn, who took it without hesitation. "You look so beautiful," Venus sighed, pressing a kiss to Saturn's temple.  
  
The raven-haired senshi felt her cheeks grow warm at Venus's comment. "You always look beautiful, Minako-chan," she stammered in response. "Even in your fuku, you still look like an angel."  
  
Now it was Venus's turn to blush. "Oh, Hotaru-chan!" she laughed, giving the girl a quick hug, "you're so good to me. C'mon, the ball is starting and I want to dance!" With a small giggle, Saturn let herself be pulled forward, out into the noise of the crowd. But with Minako there, none of it mattered.  
  
There is nothing, Saturn thought as Venus pulled her out to the very center of the room, that could make me happier than I am now. Still, her eyes drifted unwittingly to the delighted king and queen and their new daughter.  
  
"Nothing," she whispered under her breath, before allowing herself to be enveloped by the room's euphoric atmosphere. 


End file.
